About Me

Buford C. Terrell
Controlled substances laws and their consequences have been the center of my professional life for over fifteen years. I host a public interest television program in Houston, “Drugs, Crime, and Politics” , produced by the Drug Policy forum of Texas, and have done so for most of its ten-year history. Before my retirement, I taught a seminar, “Controlled Substances Law” for many years at South Texas College of Law.
In this blog I intend to explore the features and consequences of those laws, especially the unintended consequences, and look at the need for, and possibility of, changing them. Don’t expect a lot of breaking news or current events, although there will be some. My approach will be more historical and theoretical. I hope to get a lot of criticism – good, bad, and otherwise – and to start some good, heated discussions.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Trivia Quiz

Trivia Quiz

I recently did a guest lecture spot in a graduate sociology class, and rather than merely subjecting them to just a boring history lecture, I started with a little trivia quiz. Those graduate students didn’t do too well on it and I thought you might do better. Have fun with it, and I’ll post the answers in a few days.

1. In his first term, President George Washington led federal troops against rebels in western Pennsylvania. Which psychoactive drug was at the root of the controversy?

2. In the period 1790 – 1805 the U.S. fought a war against the Barbary Pirates in North Africa. Why were American ships in the Mediterranean at this time?

3. During the Civil War, where did the Confederate Army get its medical opium?

4. When and where was the first U.S. law against marijuana passed?

5. How many doctors testified to Congress concerning the proposed Marihuana Tax Act of 1937? Were they for or against the Act?

6. How many people had used marijuana in 1937 according to the Government’s testimony to Congress?

7. What were the Government’s estimates of the number of people using marijuana in 2008?

8. Switzerland began providing free heroin to addicts in the mid-1990s. How many people in Switzerland have died of opioid overdose in Switzerland since then?

9. How many people were arrested for simple marijuana possession in the U.S. last year?

10. California adopted state medical marijuana by referendum in 1996. How many states now have medical marijuana laws?